Breathing in New Ireland is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 169 thousand people across 2 districts in New Ireland. The average PM2.5 level is 6.5 µg/m³—1.3Ɨ higher than the WHO guideline.

Brought to you by Amrit Sharma

Air Pollution in New Ireland

New Ireland faces significant air pollution challenges. 100% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 169 thousand across 2 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 6.5µg/m³. That's 1.3 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 108 cigarettes in a year.

Air Quality Trend

Annual PM2.5 levels from 2014 to 2023. The WHO guideline for safe air is 5 µg/m³.

Life Expectancy Impact

If New Ireland met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.16 years longer.

That's 27K years of life stolen from 169 thousand people. Years of watching children grow up. Years of building a career. Years of quiet mornings and celebrations.

Lives cut short. Breathing kills.

Districts with Highest Pollution

The top 2 most polluted districts in New Ireland. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.Namatanai
    0.2 years lost
  • 2.Kavieng
    0.1 years lost

Population Exposure by Pollution Level

Distribution of population across different PM2.5 pollution levels. The WHO guideline is 5 µg/m³—only populations below this threshold are breathing safe air.

< 5 µg/m³
0%
0
5-10 µg/m³
100%
169K
10-15 µg/m³
0%
0
15-25 µg/m³
0%
0
25-35 µg/m³
0%
0
> 35 µg/m³
0%
0

All 2 Districts in New Ireland

Complete air quality data for every district in New Ireland, sorted by population.

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Namatanai97K
6.8
0.2 years
Kavieng72K
6.2
0.1 years

Showing 2 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.